ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions have been cautious with the team's top offensive weapon this offseason, regularly resting wide receiver Calvin Johnson during training camp and holding him out of the team's first two preseason games.

The bubble wrap will come off Friday, when the Lions host the Jacksonville Jaguars for a regular season dress rehearsal.

Johnson is understandably excited to see the field, but even he'll be taking some extra precaution this year. The All-Pro receiver will be wearing a protective splint on the finger that required surgery during the offseason.

While Friday will be his first true test with the splint, Johnson doesn't expect it to hinder his ability to haul in passes.

"It's doesn't affect me," Johnson said. "Doctors did a great job making the thing so that it doesn't affect the way I catch the ball. We'll give it a go and see how it feels."

In addition to his finger injury, Johnson also dealt with knee pain much of last season, requiring another offseason procedure. He described the way his body felt now, compared to the end of last season, as "night and day."

When Johnson finally takes the field, fans may notice he's being used differently in the team's new offensive scheme.

The biggest change will be putting him in motion more regularly. He'll also continue to line up in multiple spots, inside and outside. He's run nearly a quarter of his routes out of the slot the past five seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.

One thing the Lions won't do this year is force the ball to Johnson. The team's offensive scheme is predicated on taking advantage of the best matchups, not throwing to the star receiver a specific amount of times.

"He obviously is a phenomenal talent, a phenomenal player, a phenomenal person, Lombardi said, "so, if they are letting you throw the ball to him, you want to throw the ball to him for sure,"

"I think one of the good things of maybe him not playing in the preseason is you have seen some distribution with the football," Lombardi continued. "That is going to help a player like him. You can't just say, 'He's not catching the ball, what else are you going to do?' Hopefully, the players have gained some confidence that that ball can be distributed and it doesn't have to be just a one-man show."